In 2019, the State Government announced its commitment to working with all sectors of the economy to achieve net‑zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. On May 10, The McGowan Labor Government announced that they would allocate almost $60 million to accelerate the use of zero-emission vehicles.
The state government says the rebate as part of its commitment to reduce emissions and fight climate change. It’s hoped that the rebate will encourage more people to switch to EVs, allowing users to save more than $1,400 per year on fuel costs.
The Clean Energy Fund for Electric Vehicles
The $60 million budget allocated for the acceleration of the use of electric vehicles will be handed down on Thursday. The Clean Energy Car fund will include $36.5 million to provide a $3,500 rebate for the first 10,000 people to purchase an electric vehicle worth $70,000 starting on May 10.
The $3,500 rebate is one of the most generous offers in the nation. West Australia Premier Mark McGowan said, “This initiative will mean more people can take up the opportunity to buy an electric vehicle and reduce their carbon emissions, reduce their fuel costs, reduce their dependence on fuel,”
Budget for Charging Infrastructure
There will also be a budget allocated for the development of charging infrastructure. A total of $22.6 million will be used to expand WA’s electric charging network further. This includes:
- $10 million to support not-for-profits and small and medium-sized businesses with grants of up to 50 per cent of the installing charging infrastructure costs;
- $5 million to support local government’s install charging infrastructure by providing grants of up to 50 per cent of the installation cost;
- $4 million for the Public Transport Authority to trial the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure at four train stations, providing up to 20 bays per car park with commuter charging access; and
· more than $2.9 million in eight new charging stations across four locations on a section of National Highway 1 between Norseman and Eucla to ensure WA’s electric highway extends to South Australia.
The Road Tax
Like other states in Australia, such as Victoria, NSW and South Australia, there will be a distance-based road user charge for electric vehicles starting on July 1, 2027.
Electric vehicle owners will have to pay road taxes to help pay for road repairs and maintenance. The tax will be 2.5 cents per kilometer for electric and hydrogen vehicles and 2 cents per kilometer for plug-in hybrid vehicles, with both rates indexed to the Consumer Price Index.
“Unfortunately, we have to fund the roads, we have to put money into maintenance, and we have to have a funding source for that,” Premier Mark McGowan said.
The State Government said that they would be investing $200,000 to develop options on systems for monitoring and collecting the future road user charge.
The State Government said that replacing 10,000 petrol-fuelled vehicles with electric or hydrogen vehicles is expected to reduce carbon emissions by at least 7,000 tonnes each year. The rebates could help to encourage more people to switch to EVs, which would help WA’s goal to achieve net‑zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
